Blade setter for planers and the like

ABSTRACT

A gauge tool for setting a blade in an elongated, rotatable cutterhead of a planer or jointer is provided with a pair of elongated, relatively offset, parallel surfaces. One of the surfaces is adapted to be placed on an elongated, longitudinal face of the cutterhead, which is parallel with the longitudinal axis of the latter, in such a manner that the other surface is placed in a position overlying a cutting edge of the blade. The tool properly locates the cutting edge of the blade parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cutterhead when the entire length of the one surface engages the face of the cutterhead adjacent the blade and the cutting edge is shifted outwardly from the face so that it engages the entire length of the overlying surface.

United States Patent [191 Ellis, Jr.

[111 3,894,340 [451 July 15,1975

[ BLADE SETTER FOR PLANERS AND THE LIKE [76] Inventor: Russell Lee Ellis, Jr., 1 l3 OBrien Rd, Lees Summit, Mo. 64063 [22] Filed: June 21, 1974 [2]] Appl. No.: 481,748

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 284,948, Aug. 30, 1972,

Primary ExaminerWilliam D. Martin, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Schmidt, Johnson, Hovey & Williams [57] ABSTRACT A gauge tool for setting a blade in an elongated, rotatable cutterhead of a planer or jointer is provided with a pair of elongated, relatively offset, parallel surfaces. One of the surfaces is adapted to be placed on an elongated, longitudinal face of the cutterhead, which is parallel with the longitudinal axis of the latter, in such a manner that the other surface is placed in a position overlying a cutting edge of the blade. The tool properly locates the cutting edge of the blade parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cutterhead when the entire length of the one surface engages the face of the cutterhead adjacent the blade and the cutting edge is shifted outwardly from the face so that it engages the entire length of the overlying surface.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures BLADE SETTER FOR PLANERS AND THE LIKE This is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 284,948, filed on Aug. 30, 1972, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a tool for accurately, quickly and safely positioning a cutting edge of an elongated blade in a powered surface planer and is particularly intended for use with any planer or jointer having an open-face, rotatable, -blade-holding cutterhead such as is common in planers found in home workshops.

It has always been a time-consuming task to properly position the longitudinal cutting edges of the blades relative to the face of the cutterhead so that a smooth, flat .and even surface is obtained when a piece of material passes through the planer. The generally accepted procedure of setting the blades has been to place a gauge, which has been designed primarily for setting the depth of cut, at one end of the blade, bring the cutting edge of the blade immediately below the gauge into contact with the latter and then relocate the gauge at the opposite end of the blade and likewise again bring the cutting edge into contact therewith. Each time one end of the blade is raised, the opposite end tends to move downwardly, thus necessitating the need for again raising the first end of the blade. This procedure results in having to alternately shift the gauge from one end of the blade to the other until the edge has been gradually brought into parallelism with the longitudinal axis of the cutterhead. The repeated shifting of the gauge is tedious and time-consuming, thus making it most difficult to readily and quickly change the blades when they become dull or when the blade has been moved and requires resetting.

It is, therefore, a very important object of my present invention to provide a blade-setting tool that accurately positions the cutting edge of a planer blade parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cutterhead.

It is a still further very important object of the invention to provide a blade-setting tool that enables the user to quickly, as well as accurately, set the blade cutting edge parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cutterhead.

It is yet another very important object of my invention to provide a blade-setting tool that need not be shifted from one end of the blade to the other in order to accurately position the cutting edge of the blade parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cutterhead.

It is another important object of the present invention to provide a blade-setting tool that sets the cutting edges of all the blades of uniform distance from the face of the cutterhead.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a blade-setting tool that may be used to set the depth of cut of the blade simultaneously with setting the parallelism of its cutting edge with the face of the cutterhead.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of a planer cutterhead having a blade setter placed thereon and made in accordance with one form of my present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along lines 22 of FIG. 1, parts having been removed for clarity;

7 FIG. 3 is an elevational, longitudinal view of the blade setter removed from the cutterhead;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the blade setter;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of a blade setter provided with means for securing the same to the cutterhead; and I FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, end view showing a modified form of the blade setter.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1-4, a gauge tool in the nature of an elongated member 10 is adapted to be placed on a rotatable cutterhead, which is of the kind having a solid, elongated, circular body 12 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 of a planer or the like (not shown). A pair of shafts 38, integral with and extending in opposite directions at each end of the body 12, cooperate with bearings (not shown) to support the body 12 in the planer. The substantially cylindrically shaped body 12,

rotatable about its longitudinal axis, is provided with an elongated, transversely convex face 14 parallel with the above-mentioned axis and three longitudinal grooves 16 equally spaced circumferentially about the body 12 and extending inwardly from the face 14. Inasmuch as the three grooves 16 are identical and each contain a plurality of elongated gibs 22 and an elongated blade 18, all of which are also identical, only one groove 16 and its related components will be described with like numerals being used for each of the three sets. It is to be understood that a single tool 10 is used to successively position each of the three blades 18, therefore its operation will likewise be described only once.

The groove 16 presents an inner wall 28, a tapered sidewall 32 and a straight sidewall 33 perpendicular to the wall 28. Immediately adjacent and contiguous with the groove 16 are a pair of spaced-apart holes 34 drilled into the body 12 from the face 14, each of which are tapped to receive a flanged socket head jackscrew 36.

The blade 18, having a longitudinal cutting edge 20, a longitudinal side 21 and a flat, longitudinal edge 19, is received by the grooves 16 and is held in place by the wedge-shaped gibs 22 a central one of which is somewhat narrower for cooperation with a shim-like keeper 24. It is to be understood that the keeper 24, which is conventionally disposed intermediate the central gib and the blade 18, cooperates with the central gib to clamp the blade 18 in much the same manner as do the two outer gibs 22. The gibs 22 are provided with a tapered side 30 and a straight side 31, both of which are parallel with the walls 32 and 33, respectively, of the groove 16, and socket setscrews 26 that pass therethrough in parallelism with the side 31 and abut the wall 28 of the groove 16.

The member 10 is provided with a pair of elongated, relatively offset surfaces 40 and 42 parallel with each other along their longitudinal axes. The surface 40 has a transversely concave contour that is adapted to be placed on the face 14 of the body 12 adjacent the groove 16 and is concentric with the transversely convex face 14 of the body 12 when the surface 40 is placed thereon. Rectangular surface 42 is planar and overlies the grooves 16 in an outwardly spaced relationship thereto when the surface 40 is in engagement with the face 14, the entire length of the surface 42 thereby being in a position to contact the cutting edge 20 of the blade 18 when the latter is properly adjusted. An elongated extension 44 of the surface 42 is angularly disposed between the surfaces 40 and 42 so that its longitudinal axis is parallel with the longitudinal axes of the surfaces 40 and 42.

In operation, the gibs 22 are placed in end-to-end relationship in the groove 16 with their tapered sides 30 and the tapered wall 32 of the groove 16 in juxtaposition. The blade 18 is then also placed in the groove 16, between the sides 31 of the gibs 22 and the sidewall 33, with the cutting edge 20 spaced outwardly from the face 14 and the edge 19 resting on the heads of the jackscrews 36 as seen in FIG. 2, jackscrews 36 having been turned outwardly a sufficient distance to engage the blade 18 before the latter comes in contact with the wall 28. The usual keeper 24 is also inserted between the middle gib 22 and the blade 18 at this time. The member is placed on body 12 adjacent the groove 16 such that the entire length of the surface 40 is in engagement with the face 14, the entire length of the extension 44 also being in engagement with the side 21 ofthe blade 18. The mating contours of the face 14 and the surface 40 are now concentric, thus placing the longitudinal axis of the surface 40 parallel with the longitudinal axis of cutterhead 12. The fact that the longitudinal axes of the surfaces 40 and 42 are parallel results in the longitudinal axis of the planar surface 42 also being parallel with the longitudinal axis of the body 12. A releasable securing means, such as a C-clamp (not shown), may be used to clamp the member 10 to the body 12 for maintaining the member 10 in position as the blade 18 is adjusted and set.

After the member 10 has been properly secured to the body 12, the jackscrews 36 are turned in an outwardly direction, thus moving the blade 18 outwardly from the wall 28 of the groove 16 and into a position placing that portion of the cutting edge 20 beneath the tool 10 into engagement with the surface 42 throughout the entire length of the latter. The surfaces 40 and 42, as well as the extension 44, are coextensive in length with one another and define the full length of the member 10, such length being sufficient to extend along a major stretch, more than half the length, of the face 14 of the body 12. The cutting edge 20 is now in parallelism with the longitudinal axis of the body 12 and the blade 18 may now be set by turning the socket setscrews 26 (the middle one first) so that as they abut the wall 28 of the groove 16, the gibs 22 are forced away from the wall 28 and the tapered wall 32 causes the gibs 22 to move laterally with respect to their longitudinal axes and clamp the blade 18 tightly between the sides 31 and the wall 33 of the gibs 22, and it is to be understood that the central gib, which cooperates with the keeper 24, is tightened first in'order to initially secure the blade 18 relative to the body 12 and to keep the blade 18 positioned while the remaining end gibs 22 are tightened groove 16, respectively. The jackscrews 36 may now be turned back into their respective holes 34 as they are no longer needed to support the blade 18. The abovementioned C-clamp is now removed, thus releasing the member 10 from the body 12 after which the remaining blades 18 are set.

It is most important that each of the blades 18, with their edges 20, extend outwardly from the face 14 an equal distance in order to obtain a uniform depth of out. If the distance between the edge 20 and the face 14 is not the same and varies from one blade 18 to another, the material being planed will not have a smooth and even surface. The engagement of the extension 44 with the side 21 of the blade 18 insures that the surface 42 is consistently located relative to the groove 16, the blade 18, and the edge 20 each time member 10 is placed on the face 14, thus causing the edge 20 to always be spaced outwardly from the face 14 a uniform distance. If the spacing of the edge 20 from the face 14 is to be changed, then a different tool 10 is required in which the relative offset or defined by the transverse width of the extension 44, between the surfaces 40 and 42 is either more or less, depending on whether a greater or a lesser depth of cut is desired.

The member 10 of the present invention eliminates the need for constantly shifting a gauge from one end to the other of the blade 18 as previously mentioned. The elongated, parallel surfaces 40 and 42 are of sufficient length that when the edge 20 of the blade 18 engages the entire length of the surface 42, the edge 20 is also parallel with the longitudinal axis of the body 12 by virtue of the fact that the surface 40, which is in contact throughout its entire length with the face 14, is also parallel with the longitudinal axis of the body 12.

The utility and, therefore, the desirableness of the member 10 is clearly shown by the fact that the user is able to set the three blades 18 of the cutterhead 12 in approximately thirty minutes whereas the earliermentioned laborious procedure takes approximately 1 /2 hours. It can be readily seen that this excessive amount of time results in a tendency to neglect adjusting the blades 18 as frequently as they should be, as well as to neglect replacing them as soon as one might normally otherwise do. The tendency to neglect the proper maintenance of the blades 18 not only results in poor quality workmanship, but also introduces a safety factor in that hazardous conditions are created when planers are used which have dull blades that do not function properly. The speed and ease with which the blades 18 may now be set is such that the tendency to overlook maintenance functions because of the time involved is virtually eliminated and makes the 30- minute process of setting the blades 18 a simple and routine matter that may be easily and accurately done as often as needed without consuming a large amount of time.

The convenience and ease of properly maintaining the parallelism of the blades cutting edge 20 with the longitudinal axis of the cutterhead through the use of the member 10 is especially helpful to the hobbyist who has a planer or jointer in his home workshop and does not have a great amount of time to spend in maintaining his equipment. Very often individuals, such as these, have only an hour or two that they are able to spend in their workshop in any one span of time and having to spend the greater share of this time setting the planer blades is most discouraging and is conducive to the aforementioned neglect. The member 10 of the instant invention overcomes this disadvantage because of its simplicity, ease of use and low cost.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 5, a member is shown having a magnet 146 embedded therein and made a part thereof, which serves as an alternate to the C-clamp for securing the member 110 to the body 12, provided the latter is responsive to magnetic attraction. The magnet 147 presents an arcuate surface 148 which is flush with and forms a part of a transversely concave surface that is identical to the surface 40 of the previously described embodiment with the exception of the surface 148. It is to be understood that the'magnet 146 is'of sufficient strength and size to hold the member 110 properly positioned on the face 14 with respect to the groove 16 and the blade 18 to enable the edge 20 to contact the surface 142 without dislodging the member 110. A planar surface 142 and an elongated extension 144 are identical to the surface 42 and the extension 44 respectively, as shown in FIG. 4. With the exception of the magnetic securing means, the operation and use of the member 110 is the same asthat for the member 10.

A further embodiment is shown in FIG. 6 in which a member 210 is provided with a pair of spaced-apart, elongated surfaces 240 and 242 having transversely concave contours and parallel longitudinal axes. An elongated extension 244, identical to the extensions 44 and 144 in the previous embodiments, is disposed between the surfaces 240 and 242. The surface 240 has a pair of spaced, parallel, longitudinal edges 248 which provide lines of contact with the face 14 of the body 12 when the member 210 is placed thereon. 'The parallelism of the edges 248 establishes and maintainsthe longitudinal axis of the surface 242 parallel with the longitudinal axis of the body 12 as long as the edges 248 are in contact with the face 14 throughout their entire lengths. Furthermore, the surface 242 is concentric with face 14 when the edges 248 are disposed on face 14 throughout their lengths.

The configuration of the member 210 is distinctive in that the concentricity of the surface 242 and the face 14 precludes the need for having the extension 244 in engagement with the side 21 of the blade 18 as the latter is being adjusted and set. As long as some part of the surface 242 overlies the cutting edge 20 of the blade 18 and the edges 248 are in contact with the face 14 throughout their entire lengths, the edge 20 will be spaced a uniform distance outwardly from the face 14 of the body 12 when in contact with the surface 242 along the entire length of the latter. In other words, if in setting the first of the three blades 18 the member 210 is placed on the face 14 so that the edge 20 engages the surface 242 adjacent the extension 244 and the remaining two blades are subsequently set with their edges 20 engaging the surface 242 at some point further removed from the extension 244, the three edges 20 are still uniformly spaced outwardly from the face 14 by virtue of the concentricity of the concave surface 242 with face 14. With the exception of the way in which the tool 210 may be positioned on the body 12 with respect to the blade 18, the operation and use thereof is the same as that for the tool 10.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A gauge tool for setting an elongated blade in a cutterhead, the latter including an elongated, axially rotatable cylindrical body having an elongated, transversely convex face parallel with the axis of rotation, and a longitudinal groove extending into the head from said face receiving the blade with the longitudinal cutting edge thereof being spaced outwardly from said face, said cutterhead further being provided with means within said groove releasably holding the blade in a clamped condition in the groove and against a sidewall of the same, said tool comprising:

a unitary, elongated member having a first segment of a length and configuration for continuous, uninterrupted engagement with a major stretch of said convex face adjacent the groove and blade when said first segment is positioned on said convex face proximal to the juncture of said groove sidewall and convex face with the longitudinal axis of said member in parallelism with the longitudinal axis of said body,

said member also having a second blade-engaging segment extending only partially across the width of said groove in overlying relationship to that length of said blade adjacent said member, said second segment being equal in length to said first segment and configured to permit access to said blade-holding means within said groove along the entire length of the latter,

.the normal underside of said member being defined by a pair of elongated, interconnected, juxtaposed I surfaces of a uniform length and disposed in laterally offset relationship relative to one another with their respective longitudinal axes being parallel with that of said body, one of said surfaces defining the normal underside of said first segment and being transversely arcuate to present a contour concentric with said convex face for said continuous, uninterrupted engagement therewith along the entire length of said one sur- 2 face,

the other of said surfaces defining the surface of said second segment adjacent said blade, said other surface being planar and extending only partially over i said groove in an outwardly spaced relationship thereto, there being a fixed, elongated, planar, angularly disposed blade-side-engaging extension surface of predetermined, uniform transverse width interconnecting said pair of surfaces along the full length of A the member and having a longitudinal axis parallel with the longitudinal axes of said pair of surfaces, said blade-side-engaging extension surface being configured to define a continuation of said groove sidewall extending outwardly from said convex face in continuous and uninterrupted laterally abutting engagement with the entire surface area of that portion of one side of the blade extending out- Jwardly from said convex face and disposed adjacent said blade-side-engaging surface whereby, upon movement of the blade outwardly of the 'groove to a position placing the cutting edge thereof in engagement with the outer surface throughout the length of the latter, the full length of the cutting edge is uniformly spaced outwardly a predetermined distance from said convex face and said cutting edge is parallel with said body axis. 

1. A gauge tool for setting an elongated blade in a cutterhead, the latter including an elongated, axially rotatable cylindrical body having an elongated, transversely convex face parallel with the axis of rotation, and a longitudinal groove extending into the head from said face receiving the blade with the longitudinal cutting edge thereof being spaced outwardly from said face, said cutterhead further being provided with means within said groove releasably holding the blade in a clamped condition in the groove and against a sidewall of the same, said tool comprising: a unitary, elongated member having a first segment of a length and configuration for continuous, uninterrupted engagement with a major stretch of said convex face adjacent the groove and blade when said first segment is positioned on said convex face proximal to the juncture of said groove sidewall and convex face with the longitudinal axis of said member in parallelism with the longitudinal axis of said body, said member also having a second blade-engaging segment extending only partially across the width of said groove in overlying relationship to that length of said blade adjacent said member, said second segment being equal in length to said first segment and configured to permit access to said bladeholding means within said groove along the entire length of the latter, the normal underside of said member being defined by a pair of elongated, interconnected, juxtaposed surfaces of a uniform length and disposed in laterally offset relationship relative to one another with their respective longitudinal axes being parallel with that of said body; body, one of said surfaces defining the normal underside of said first segment and being transversely arcuate to present a contour concentric with said convex face for said continuous, uninterrupted engagement therewith along the entire length of said one surface, the other of said surfaces defining the surface of said second segment adjacent said blade, said other surface being planar and extending only partially over said groove in an outwardly spaced relationship thereto, there being a fixed, elongated, planar, angularly disposed blade-side-engaging extension surface of predetermined, uniform transveRse width interconnecting said pair of surfaces along the full length of the member and having a longitudinal axis parallel with the longitudinal axes of said pair of surfaces, said blade-side-engaging extension surface being configured to define a continuation of said groove sidewall extending outwardly from said convex face in continuous and uninterrupted laterally abutting engagement with the entire surface area of that portion of one side of the blade extending outwardly from said convex face and disposed adjacent said blade-side-engaging surface whereby, upon movement of the blade outwardly of the groove to a position placing the cutting edge thereof in engagement with the outer surface throughout the length of the latter, the full length of the cutting edge is uniformly spaced outwardly a predetermined distance from said convex face and said cutting edge is parallel with said body axis. 